A study on user perceptions and user behavior of an online federated search system

This study aims at investigating the perceptions, acceptance and usage behavior of users on federated search systems. The research method involved the development of a questionnaire on users' satisfaction and acceptance of federated search systems based on Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). The federated search system implemented in National Chiao Tung University (NCTU) was used as a case system. In addition to the six constructs of TAM, i.e. perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, attitude, behavioral intention, and actual use, the construct user training is proposed as the external variable. After the development of the questionnaire was finished, an online survey was conducted. 403 effective responses were collected. Through Pearson-product moment correlation and structural equation modeling, the correlation and causal relationships between factors which influence the acceptance of library SMS services were identified. The results show that federated search systems are helpful to obtain needed resources for users. Users recognize the functions of systems and most of them will recommend it to others. But there are still great improvements to be done on functions, interface design and user training. It is proved that user training, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, attitudes and intentions affect the perceptions, acceptance and usage behavior of federated search systems indeed.